Reel structure



T. J. MORGAN ETAL REEL STRUCTURE Filed June '7, 1943 PatentedfJan. 8, 1946 i UNITED 2,392,492 REEL s'rnUc'rUnE Thomas Morgan, Chicago', and Arthur S. Dearborn, Hinsdale, llllll.

Application June 1, 1943, serian No. 489,920

f (ci. 24a-"14) 'I'his invention relates generally to reels for accommodating motion picture film and more particularly to reels equipped with means for facilitating the retention of the leading portion of a film during the initial application thereof to the reel.

When the leading portion or what is commonly referred to as the leader of a motion picturefllm'l is initially applied to a reel, the use of means for frictionally holding the film during this initial application greatly facilitates the ease with which the remaining portion of the film will follow. Various forms of film holding devices have been employed. It has, for example, been common practice to insert the leading edge of the Fig. 211s an edge elevational view shown in Fig.' 1; and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional viewoflthe reel taken substantially along the line v V3 3 of Fig. r.

Referring now to the drawing more in'detail 'wherein like numerals have been employed to nlm into a slit in the reel hub and it has-also been common to employ springs along the inner sides ofthe reel adjacent the hub for resiliently engaging the opposite edges of the iilm.

The foregoing and other devices for initially holding he leader of a film on the reel present certain disadvantages which the present inven tion seeks to avoid. To this end, the present invention contemplates a reel construction which hance the gripping action of the side edges of the film.

Still more specifically, the present invention contemplates a reel construction wherein rigid inclined Wall 4portions are provided, the inclination and distance between said wall portions,

being such as to cause the transverse :bowing of the film when forced downwardly therebetween, whereby as an incident to the forces resulting fromthe inherent springiness of the bowed film, thel side edges of the film will effectively grip said inclined wall portions.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description lwhen considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig.. 1 isa side elevational view of a reel constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

designate similar parts throughout the various figures, it will be seen that the invention contemplates a motion picture reel designated generally by the numeral I0. By way of illustration and not in any sense by way of limitation, the reel disclosed in the drawing comprises two identical sections welded or otherwise secured together at I2. Each of the welded sections includes a hub portion I4 provided with 'apertures I6 for accommodating the usual reel supporting spindle (not shown). i

Each of the welded sections is formed with annular indentations or depressions I8 which in cross-section, as illustrated in Fig. 3, present U- shaped portions, the lower legs of which form a hub periphery 20 and the upper legs presenting outer peripheral sections 22 for receiving Va motion picture lm 24. Sections 26 interposed between the portions 20 and 22 may be secured together as by means of the aforesaid welds I2. Extending radially outward. in substantially parallel relation and formed integral with the peripheral sections 22 are side members or plates 28. These side members 28 are spaced a suilicient distance toenable the motion picture film to .be freely received thereby. In other words, the

width of the space between the side members 28 is slightly larger than the width of the motio picture film 24.

Particular attention is Adirected to slightly inclined or outwardly flaring wall portions 30 which extend radially from the outer margin of the peripheral sections 22 and merge with the side members 28. lThese wall portions 30 are relatively rigid so that when the film 24 is forced downwardly from the dot and dash position shown in Fig. 3 along wall surfaces A, the film will become transversely bowed, as indicated by the solid line disclosure in Fig. 3. Motion picture film is inherently springy and when it is bowed, as illustrated in Fig. 3', the tendency of the film to return to its normal flat condition causes the lateral edges of the film to frictionally bear against the oppositely disposed inclined wall surfaces -A. It has been found that li the wall surfaces A are disposed or inclined as illustrated in the drawing, the film 'will be rendered selfgripping. That isl to say, the flare or inclinaof the reel tion of the wall surfaces A is sunicient to cause the transverse bowing of the nlm as it is pressed downwardly between the side members or plates 28; Furthermore, vthis inclination or outward flaring of the surfaces A is sufficiently gradual so that the pressure exerted, Iby the lateral edges of the nlm against its companion wall surface is such that these edges will not slip outwardly along the wall surfaces but will be frictionally retained in place. The inclination of the wall surfaces A- must be fsuchftha't the comppnent.

of the forces at the point of contact between the edge of the nlm and the surface A serves to urge the nlm edges into non-slipping frictional engagement with said surfaces.

In the disclosed embodimentl the peripheral cient vto bring about gripping of the lateral edges of the bowed nlm against said rigid wall surfaces. No subsequent spinning of the reel to tak'e up one or more turns of the nlm upon-the peripheral surface presented by the sections 122 is necessary. In other words,

the initial gripping of the lateral edges of a relatively small portion of the nlm against the inclined rigid wall surfaces is sunicient to condition .the reel for subsequent take-up orpwinding of the The invention is hereby claimed asf'ollows: 1. ,In a reel for motion picture nlm, the comybination of two sheet metal side plates in parallel spaced relation to each other and having narrow inner edge portions of conical form convergsections 22 are inclined slightly .outwardly from the central connecting sections 26 and this serves to afford increased depthat the -center of the reel. By having the peripheral. surface presented by the sections 22 relatively concave 4Iin crosssection, the nlm may be bowed to a greater degree than would be possible if the peripheral surface extended in parallelism with the reel axis.

. reel construction which depends for its nlm gripping effectiveness upon novel wall surfaces of substantial circumferential extent which are designed to cooperate with the inherent springiness of the bowed nlm in retaining the nlm in place. This should be clearly distinguished from devices which require the end of the leader on the nlm to be bent radially inward throughr an axial slit and from devices which require the nlm to be pressed against oppositely disposed spring or non-rigid members. The present invention contemplates'a form of reel which is extremelysimple in construction yet most enicient in operation. No auxiliary parts or stampings are required 'and the reel may |be made by practicing conventional and extremely economical methods of manufacture. In initially applying the leader of the nlm to the reel, the users finger is employed to press the nlm against a segmentary portion of the rigid wall surfaces A. This simple operation is sunling towards the axis of the reel, and means connecting said side plates and providing a winding t member having a shallow concaved groove thereabout immediately inside of said conical portions, .the parts being so shaped and proportioned as to give the nlm for which the'reel is designed a loose nt between the outer portions of the side plates when wound in flattened condition on the straighten out transversely so as to have fricreel and to cause the nlm when bowed transversely and then reeled to have a tendency to tional engagement at, its edges with said conical portions of the side plates adjacent to said winding member with the bowing of the nlm normally limited by the shape of the concaved groove about the winding member.

2. The combination of two side plates pressed from pieces of sheet metal and arranged in parallel spaced relation to each other and having narrowinner edge portions of conical form converging towards the axis of the reel, and offset portions of said pieces of sheet metal in engagement with each other and rigidly connected together so as to provide a winding member having a shallow concaved groove thereabout immediately inside of said conical portions, the parts being so shaped and proportioned as to 'give the nlm for which the reel is designed a loose nt between the outer portions of the side plates when wound in flattened condition on the reel and to cause the nlm when bowed transversely and then reeled to have a tendency to straighten out transversely and thus by its inherent resiliency and stiffness press at its edges into frictional engagement with said conical portions of the side plates adjacent to said winding member.

' THOMAS J. MORGAN.

ARTHUR S. .DEARBORN e we 'described n-f 

